


Frost On Dragon Wings

by WiccanArtist



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: (Of course lol), A protag who’s a clumsy dork and a nervous wreck, Acrophobia, Action/Adventure, F/F, F/M, Injury, Multi, Romantic Comedy, Some angst, also she has, imposter syndrome
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-15 23:08:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29197350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WiccanArtist/pseuds/WiccanArtist
Summary: A former ice-type gym leader named Noelle (Fuyumi) from the neighboring region of Lykke has arrived to Galar to put herself in exile, her aunt, the Ice-Cold Professional, Melony (Melon) has invited her to be her gym trainer for the upcoming Gym Challenge that’s set to start up in a few weeks. All’s well and good but the universe seems to be out to get her. However, an attractive dragon-type gym leader does make it all worth while.
Relationships: Dande | Leon/Sonia (implied), Kibana | Raihan/Original Female Character(s), OC/OC (Both Female)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 8





	1. Sky’s The Limit...In Chance Meetings

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever fanfiction, I only had practice from roleplaying on Tumblr, so please forgive me if I make any mistakes. Also I just want to point out that I try my best to make Noelle be a character that is relatable but still good at what she does, even if it doesn’t look that way sometimes.  
> As for what she looks like, I originally want to make illustrations for each chapter, just so that everyone has an idea of the scenery but I will do that when I can. For now all I can say is that she has long wavy/curly platinum blonde hair kinda like Melony and Gordie that goes down to her butt, purple eyes and typically wears Scandinavian-like winter clothing in blue. That’s the short answer. 
> 
> Update: I decided to just post her concept art on Tumblr and post the link here so that I don't have to describe her everytime she's in a scene. Lol But I will still do illustrations. Keep in mind that the patterns on her shaw will change to simplify it for me (as much as I didn't want to change it).
> 
> https://wiccan-artist.tumblr.com/post/642498019011559425/this-is-noelle-my-oc-for-pokemon-sword-and
> 
> If you have any questions or critiques, feel free to comment them in the comments below and I hope that you enjoy this story!

It was a bright and sunny day in Hulbury, the gym challenge is about to begin in a few weeks and the city is bustling with people from all across Galar. Noelle came from a different region that neighbors Galar called Lykke, it’s a bit colder than Galar but it’s perfect for an ice trainer like Noelle, who arrived to Galar from Lykke for a reason involving the Gym Challenge. She is the niece of Galar’s Ice Gym Leader, Melony, and arrived to help her aunt with the challenge by being one of her Gym Trainers. Considering that Noelle left Lykke for...complicated reasons, Melony felt that Noelle needed not only a place to stay but something to do while she’s in “exile”. Regardless, Noelle finally arrived to Hulbury and now all she has to do is get to the train that leads to Circhester. 

As she got off the docks, a man in what seems to be an ice gym hoodie, sweatpants and hat approaches her and waving at her. “Hello there! You must be Noelle!”, the man exclaimed a little, stuffing his hands into the pockets of the hoodie. Noelle, startled by the man after focusing on her surroundings for too long, stood up straight and waved back in a stiff manner, almost worried that she might scare the man away. “Y-yes, I’m Noelle from Lykke.”, she stated before looking him over and noticing the crest on his hoodie, “You must be one of Aunt Melony’s gym trainers.” The man flashed a smile and nodded, “That’s right. The name’s Micah. Guess you can say that I’ll be your mentor for your training. The Gym Challenge is in a few weeks, so we need to start as soon as we get to Circhester.”

Noelle nods in agreement at Micah before walking towards the direction of the train station, assuming that Micah will follow before realizing he hasn’t moved. He looked at her puzzled as she started back, just as confused. Micah scratches the back of his head and tries to laugh off how awkward this sudden situation was, “I’m not sure why you’re going in that direction when our ride to Circhester is that way.” Micah points in the opposite direction of the train station and to a sight that made her face turn pale. A cab driver waves at the two with a smile on his face while his Corviknight perched on top of what seems to be a car, kinda like the cable cars back in Lykke for skiing but a bit smaller and made for four people instead of eight. Noelle assumes that that’s where the passengers are supposed to sit in.

In the air.

135 feet (0.0411 kilometers) high.

...

_ N O P E _ , Noelle thought to herself, almost internally screaming and begging for this to be a joke made by Gordie. 

Noelle looked at Micah, her face pale and her eyes close to spilling tears, “W-w-w-we’re not r-r-riding that, a-a-are we?” She stuttered, hoping that Micah would say no or that another person behind them was going to ride the car of death. Micah chuckled a bit, not sure if she was expecting something...lower. “This is what your aunt requested, since this is the fastest way to get to Circhester.”

Oh.

No.

“I-I-I’m sorry.....BUT THERE IS NO WAY I’M GETTING IN THAT!”, Noelle blurted out before booking it to the train station. Micah told the cab driver that he’ll return before turning to chase after Noelle. It took some twists, turns and climbs before she was able to find the train station in her panic. A wave of relief washed over her when she manages to get into the station. 

“Five minutes to departure!”, the station staffer announced. It’s crunch time to the nearest boxcar. 

In her panic haste, she bought a ticket without fully reading the labels and the ticket booth lady wondered if everything was fine and Noelle nodded. She took her ticket and placed it into the ticket machine and the gates opened. Just as Noelle boarded the train (well more like jumped into the train car and crashing into the wall before she could stop herself), Micah entered the building and shouted at Noelle to get off but the doors cut-off Micah mid-sentence. Noelle gave Micah and apologetic look and mouthed ‘I’m sorry’ before the intercom blared,

“All aboard! First stop is Hammerlocke!”

................

_ Oh. _

_ Craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap. _

And the train started to move as Noelle pressed her face against the doors. 

————-

She screwed up. Again. 

How did she manage to get herself whisked away to, for all she knows, the other side of Galar? She definitely is giving off foreigner vibes because there is no way a native Galarian would get end up on the other side of the very region they were born in. 

Noelle pushed herself off of the door after a train attendant told her off for putting her weight on it. She made her way to the boxcar were people lounge. It looked to be that all the tables are occupied, so she tries to find the least crowded one and the only table that has at least one person in it has a man that seemed to be glued to his red Rotom phone.  _ He’s kinda cute but maybe he prefers to be alone? _ , she thought before she looked around the boxcar to realize that there are no other seats left. 

_ Great. _

Doesn’t seem like she has much of a choice and who knows how long getting to Hammerlocke is going to take. She approached the empty seat in front of him and was about to sit in it before the man spoke, “You caused quite a ruckus back there, miss.” Noelle froze at that statement. “A-are you talking to m-me?”, she stuttered and hoped that he wasn’t talking about her and how she literally flew into the train and crashing into the wall of the train. 

“Of course I am.” The man finally took his bright teal eyes off his phone and up at her with a smirk on his face. “You’re the only person in this boxcar, besides the train attendant, that came through that door. So either the train attendant finally had it with their job and broke some things in there or you were the one who was so desperate to get on the train to crash into it and possibly made a mess.” He stated, all while typing away on his phone and taking pictures and Noelle stood there with her jaw on the floor. Of course of all the people to notice her acting like a complete fool, it just had to be the one guy she immediately found attractive. She tossed her stuff on the seat defeated and plopped herself into the seat next to her things then laid her head on the table with a groan. 

They stayed quite for a bit before she looked up at him, feeling awkward looking like a miserable Tentacool while he’s just scrolling on his phone, occasionally looking out the window or looking his surroundings. The only reason she could tell is because her head was cemented to the table, she felt almost every movement being made. Noelle sat up and leaned on her elbows to think of what to talk about. “So, um...” she started, “Is there a train that goes to Circhester?” The man looked up from his phone at her again before lowering the hand that’s holding his phone to give her more of his attention, “You’re not from here, I take it.” Noelle shook her head in response. “There are no trains that can go into Circhester. The only way to get there is either walking or a flying taxi.”

...................

_ Ssssssssssssshhhhhhh-shoot! _

Noelle puts her head in her hands, she’s in trouble. If only she listened to Micah. Maybe getting on a flying taxi wouldn’t be a bad idea, she could just...close her eyes and deal with it but N O O O, she just had to freak out and run away on her future co-worker, maybe. She was snapped out of her thoughts when the man’s phone started to vibrate repeatedly, someone’s calling him apparently. “Sorry, I have to get this, I’ll be right back.”, he said apologetically before getting up and leaving through the door she came through an hour ago. Hope he enjoys the view. Just then she notices some people glaring at her from across the boxcar as if she had done the unthinkable. All she wanted to do is just fade from existence at this point. She should’ve never left Lykke, she could’ve just stayed there and be the ice type gym leader that they wanted but she just couldn’t stay. Maybe this is punishment for that decision. After a while, the man came back and sat right back in his spot, his phone isn’t in his hand (presumably it’s in his pockets) and he is looking at her with a raised eyebrow. “Are you related to Melony, Galar’s ice gym leader?”, he questioned and she blinked, what brought this on? “Oh, um, yeah. She’s, she’s my aunt.” 

He hummed at the answer as he leaned back in his seat, “She’s looking for you. She mentioned her niece getting lost and described you.” Now she’s rapidly blinking. “Wait, you know her?”, she questioned fully sitting up, curious as to how this man would have any connection with Aunt Melony. Then came the answer...

“She’s my colleague. We’re both gym leaders. She might not have mentioned me but since I might see you more often,” The man looks at Noelle with his signature grin, exposing his fang, “I’m the Great Dragon Tamer Raihan! A dragon type gym leader!”


	2. The Falinks of Wrath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Route 8 isn't as fun as it looked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, two chapters in one day but, to be honest, I'm kinda on a roll. I still don't have illustrations done yet but, on the weekend, I may have to set some time aside to do so and add them to the first chapter and this one. Hopefully, I'll get my crap together and make illustrations after finishing a chapter and then posting them on here. But without further adu (?), here is chapter 2.

It's not everyday that the person you were sitting across from is not only your aunt's co-worker but also well-known for being the strongest gym leader and for having a large following on the internet. Noelle is not one to keep up on internet famous people or even have any social media other than a YouFame account but only to watch her favorite creators. Now that she thought of it, Raihan was mentioned a few times by multiple content creators. They never mentioned that he was this cute-- Well, maybe one of them did but Noelle has that person on as background noise while she tried to put out a fire that she accidently started in her kitchen back home. All she was trying to do is bake PokePuffs---

"Um...Hello?", Raihan called out in a sing-song tone and waving a hand close to her face, trying to get Noelle's attention.

\---Oh yeah, she's still on the train. She really needs to stop spacing out. "OH! Um, sorry about that, was lost in thought--- I mean, I was paying attention, I just, uh, was thinking about....well...", Noelle's sentence trails off into mumbling, completely unsure about how to save this conversation. Raihan chuckled nervously as he leaned back into the seat, "Anyway, we're almost to Hammerlocke and Melony is probably at the station waiting for us.". _Oh, grand. I'm gonna have an earful for not taking the potential death hazard they call 'flying taxis'. Literally, all it takes is for those big Pokemon to have one bad day and then release the car and everyone in it. How is that even considered safe?!_

The train slows to a stop at Hammerlocke Station, the doors open and everyone starts to stand up and leave for their destinations, the people who were glaring at Noelle half an hour ago started to rush towards Raihan and Noelle and stood between the two, as if they're prying his attention away from her to them. "Oh my gosh, Raihan! I love you! You're so amazing!", their praised have started to overlap one another as Raihan tries to give them all the attention they were wanting while also trying to get off the train before the other passengers start to get on. He manages to get off along with his fans and an exhausted Noelle, just then she heard a familiar voice call out to her from inside the building. She turns to see that it was Gordie, instead of Melony? Huh. Raihan, meanwhile, manages to convince his fans to let him talk to his co-worker's niece and then they leave after calling out that they'll wait for him at the stadium. Noelle can't help but giggle at how Raihan sighed as if he was a little bit overwhelmed and once he turned around to greet who he thought was Melony turn out to be Gordie instead, "Huh, I guess your mom got caught up with work at the last minute?"

The rock-type gym leader groaned a bit and nodded, "Normally I would be at my stadium right now but apparently someone decided to not go on a flying taxi and get stuck on a train." Oh boy. Gordie then turned to Noelle, not really looking happy about having to pick up his reckless, acrophobic cousin from the train station in another city, "You're lucky Hammerlocke is right in the center of Galar AND that Circhester happens to be close by, otherwise, it would've taken you days to get to the stadium, on foot." Gordie looked back at Raihan with a small smile, "Thanks for keeping her company, man." Raihan smiled back at Gordie and nodded, "Anytime! I gotta run now. And Noelle, I hope to see you again, soon.", the dragon tamer winked at her, causing her face to turn red, and walked out of the station.

Gordie tapped on Noelle's shoulder since she's staring at the doorway that Raihan left through and that made her jump a bit, "Noelle, we gotta go. You can ask for his phone number later." Noelle squinted her eyes and pouted at his remark and he just gave her a mischievous grin before turning towards the door. Noelle sighed and followed her cousin out into Hammerlocke and onto Route 7.

* * *

Now Noelle is seriously cursing herself for having a phobia of heights. Route 8 is an absolute nightmare to go through with all the Pokemon wondering about, jumping at her, nearly giving her a heart attack while Gordie waited for her to climb up every ladder that, for some reason, couldn't be replaced with stairs instead. Her arms are sore, there's sand in her hair AND eyes, she's sweating, it's getting dark out because of how long of a walk it was and she's just so tired to the point where she's swaying back and forth from all the climbing, dodging and running from Pokemon she had to do.

And all because she couldn't handle 135 feet (0.0411 kilometers) in a car carried by a flying-type Pokemon that she forgot the name of and couldn't be bothered to look it up at the moment.

"Come on, you Slowpoke! We're almost there!", Gordie called out, chuckling a bit at Noelle's expense while having to help her out here and there. Noelle was panting heavily by the time she reached the tunnel, with Gordie leaning against the arch. She faceplanted into the stone arch and slid down to the ground, her face still pressed against the stone and her face now hurts from the rough texture gliding against her face. This is a clue to Gordie that she couldn't get up due to exhaustion. He sighed and picked her up into a fireman's carry, then proceeded through the tunnel. A sudden blast of cold air hits Noelle's sweaty skin, that is when she realizes that Galar's weather is more unpredictable than a magic 8 ball.

They finally made it to Circhester, granted via being carried by your cousin who, understandably, would much rather be at his gym getting gym leader work done than babysit his cousin who was spoiled by all the cars and trains of Lykke and not many of the roads are covered in grass. Regardless, considering that it's now dark out, that means that Noelle can't start her training today and they have to go straight to Melony's place to get Noelle settled in. With Gordie and Melony having a bit of a strained relationship at the moment, Gordie puts Noelle down by the doorstep and rung the doorbell. He waved at Noelle before he speed walked away from the house.

Before Noelle could attempt to lift herself off the ground, her aunt opened the door, possibly expecting her niece to have her crap together and not be on the ground looking like she just fought the sandstorm and the sandstorm won but then Melony looked down and found her niece on the ground looking like she just fought the sandstorm and the sandstorm won. "Oh, dear. You look awfully tired. Here, let me help.", she spoke a bit softly, if a bit stern. Melony always has that type of air with her, gentle but also merciless, very much like a mother would be. Melony dragged Noelle into the house and onto the couch to get her out of the cold before turning around to shut the front door.

"Thank you, Aunt Melony.", Noelle said and Melony nodded at her before walking over to the couch. "I'm gonna go take a shower real quick.", Noelle stated. "Take as much time as you need but when you're done you and I need to talk." The ex-gym leader agreed before stumbling her way to the nearest bathroom, her hands groping the walls to use as a crutch of sorts. Half an hour later, Noelle comes out of the bathroom in nightwear that Melony provided for her in the bathroom. As she approached the kitchen, she noticed Melony was sitting in one of the chairs with a cup of tea in her hands and a steaming cup of tea across from her that is supposed to be Noelle's. She walked in nervously, normally Melony would be all smiles and happy that she finally gets to see her niece from out of region but today she didn't seem like she was happy about the events that transpired today. Noelle sat across from her aunt and waited for her to speak. "Noelle, sweetie, I don't know what has been happening to you lately but it's getting out of hand. First, you decided to abandon a family tradition by giving up your gym leader title, you left Lykke without telling your almost anyone but me and Gordie, and now you're hoping onto trains without any thought on where you're going. At least, with a flying taxi, you could get here on time, on location and, most importantly, safe. You're lucky that Gordie wasn't too busy and that Raihan was on that train, otherwise you could've gone missing or even killed!", Melony looked as if she was about to tear up, thinking of all the horrifying things that could've happened to Noelle had Raihan not bump into her. Noelle noticed this and felt worse than she already did about her decision. "I...I'm afraid of heights."

There was a pause before Melony placed her head into her right hand as if she's facepalming and spoke, "That's right.", she looked up at her niece with a sheepish smile, "I keep forgetting about that."


	3. Cultural Greetings...But Not Really

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At long last, I got not only the chapters done BUT ALSO THE CHAPTER 3 ILLUSTRATIONS. Let me know if you all would prefer no illustrations. I try to go more of a Pokemon style instead of just my typical style for Noelle, just to get a feel of what she would look like in canon. And these illustrations took me a while, despite how simplified they look. 
> 
> I hope that you enjoy chapter 3!

2 weeks before the Gym Challange...

Noelle hasn't trained this hard since she was younger, fresh out of high school. When she was trying to earn her gym leader license from her father with her best friend, well, former best friend. Their relationship has been strained for a while now. She doesn't know what she's doing right now or if things will ever go back to the way it was. It's still so surreal how Noelle is in another region for who knows how long and she is already getting homesick. Her aunt, Melony, has been training her non-stop and Micah, the man she abandoned back in Hulbury (she still had to make up for it), has been training her when Melony had to focus on another gym trainer. While Micah is a bit more forgiving, he's still just as merciless as Melony is, which is a given. Let's not forget that Noelle hasn't seen Gordie in a week and has no idea what is going on between her aunt and her cousin right now. Back then, they used to be stuck to the hip, now they just act like they're strangers. What ever the case may be, nothing feels the same anymore and it has been draining for her.------

"Hi, sweetie!", Melony calls out before sitting beside her niece on the bench in the Circhester Stadium locker room. 

Ah, right. Noelle just had her butt kicked by her aunt- again - and was sitting in here to relax. Originally, for 30 minutes, but apparently it has been an hour. Noelle waved at her aunt before looking back at the floor. Melony picked up on this and raised an eyebrow, "You have been spacing out a lot since you got here." She then chuckled as a question popped into her head and wanted to explore it further, "You haven't been thinking about Raihan, are you?" Oh, yeah, she almost forgot about that handsome man on the train. Noelle has been wondering how he was but she wasn't gonna go through the he-- cursed plains of Route 8 just to find that out for herself. He's probably too busy with training his gym trainers to have a small chit-chat with her. Noelle shook her head a bit at her aunt's question, but it was a good guess. Melony seemed a bit disappointed by the response but brushed it off anyway. "So, what has been bothering you?", she asked, but this time with a bit more concern.

Now, Noelle is not one to pour her issues out on to the nearest person available. She's expressive to a fault but she never liked bothering others, heck, she doesn't even want to talk to a therapist in fear of taking up their time, time that they could spend on someone who needs a therapist more than her. "It's nothing. I'm okay.", Noelle blurted out that automated response, whether or not she was okay or not, it's something she'll always say. Melony has picked this up the more she got older and could tell that it was a lie, but she wasn't one to push or pry is the other doesn't want to, not unless it's very serious. And this is kinda serious. 

"I don't think that's true, Noelle.", Melony said with a stern voice. "You haven't been acting like yourself lately. You're more clumsy than usual and you're always spacing out, even during training." Noelle froze (no pun intended) at the way her aunt points out her unusual behavior. Sure, Noelle is typically...unusual in the most awkward way, but it's not that obvious, is it? Just then, Gordie came into the room and his eyes met with Melony's. The room fell silent and cold almost instantly. Noelle felt the tension and it was very intense, not even a Charizard could melt this. Melony got up from her spot on the bench while Gordie went to the lockers. She turned to her niece with a small smile, "Well, looks like I have to get back to work. We'll talk more about this when we get home." Grand. Just when Noelle thought that she could escape it, she was trapped by it once again. Melony is never one to forget to either scold or get to the bottom of someone's problem. However, she doesn't seem to want anyone get to the bottom of her or Gordie's problems. Before Noelle could say anything in response, Melony walked out of the locker room and out into the stadium. 

Gordie came out from the locker rooms as soon as he heard the door closed behind her and he walked over to Noelle, with what seems to be a grin on his face. Something else there besides playfulness in his smile but it's probably nothing to be concerned about. He leaned a bit to talk to Noelle, who's still sitting down. "Hey, I just want to let you know that Raihan is coming to Circhester Stadium to take care of gym leader responsibilities and I know that I have to tell you about Galar cultural handshakes. That is if you want to impress him." She doesn't know why she would care.....but she does. And she wants to know. Immediately. She turned her body towards Gordie to give him her full attention with eyes pleading him to give her the Galarian secret to impressing a man like Raihan. Gordie's grin grew wider, the undertones are getting a little more obvious but not obvious enough for Noelle to notice, somehow. 

"Okay, you remember the high five we used to do as greeting, when we were kids? That's actually what they do here. Though, you don't see it almost at all because it's an old greeting that they used to do back then that grew out of practice as time went on.", he stated, watching Noelle's reaction. Noelle's eyes have widened with curiosity and a bit of excitement. Gordie continues while setting his backpack down and grabbing his water bottle. "And get this, Raihan is a history nut. He loves that stuff. I know, he didn't look like it when you met him on the train but, look, Hammerlocke is the center of Galar's history and it contains a vault where you can see artifacts of said history and he helps protect it."  
If Gordie will admit anything, it's that that last part is true, including the bit about Raihan loving history. Noelle placed a finger on her chin, thinking for a minute before coming to the conclusion. "When do you think he'll arrive?"

"In about a few minutes, you might have to wait until he's finished talking to my mom but after that, he's free for about two hours before we gym leaders have to go to a meeting with the chairman and the champion. So you have a small window of opportunity to talk to him now and show off your newfound knowledge of Galar culture.", Gordie finishes with a sip of water from his water bottle and waits to see what Noelle would do. Noelle, on the other hand, is having a battle with her mind about whether or not she should go bother a man that she just met a week ago. On one hand, he has said that he looks forward to seeing her more often. For some reason, that makes her heart flutter at the thought that someone like him would even look forward to seeing her. Also, he and her aunt are colleagues anyway, so it should be okay. On the other hand....

She. Just. Met. Him. A. Week. Ago. 

He probably already forgot about her. She's not really all that memorable and it probably wasn't the first time someone did something crazy in front of him like crashing into a train and making a lot of noise. 

One really outweighs the other and she just doesn't know what to do. Noelle was snapped out of her thoughts when Gordie tapped her shoulder with a smile, "I tell you what. I'll go with you, just to cheer you on from the side. Besides, he just got here and he's talking with mom right now." Her mind is made up, she's gonna try to talk to him. If she's honest, she's very nervous. Dare she say, she might have a bit of a crush on him, but also not really? Again, just met him a week ago. There's nothing there yet. 

Noelle nods to Gordie before getting up from the bench and heading for the lockers, "Okay, I'll do it! Just let me change first." Gordie doesn't need to be told twice before he left the locker room and waited outside. About fifteen minutes later, Noelle got out of the locker room with Gordie leaning against the wall by the door, "Finally, I was wondering if you changed your mind." The former gym leader pouted at her cousin, "I was just making sure that I don't look like a mess. I can't make my aunt look bad." The rock-type gym leader chuckled before leading the way to where Raihan is at, Noelle's anxiety is starting to rise a bit. Hopefully she could keep it together long enough to not embarrass herself again. 

* * *

After 20 minutes of chatting with Melony, Raihan made his way to stadium lobby. He is so busy lately that having just a couple of hours to breathe before the meeting with Leon and Chairman Rose is something he wouldn't hesitate to take. The gym challenge has always been a busy time every year, so busy that the stadium has become his second home, if not, slowly creeping up to be his first home around this time. Doesn't help that every time Raihan moves or breathes, there's always a group of fans charging at him to get a sight of him. He loves his fans, of course. He's grateful for all the support they give him and he's an extrovert anyways so it works out, but even extroverts need to recharge, especially when they run a gym and a vault filled with historical artifacts at the same time. 

Raihan only needs thirty minutes to an hour to completely recharge and this is just a good a time as any to get that respite that he needed. And the gyms in Circhester are typically closed at 5:00 (17:00), so he shouldn't have to worry about fans randomly coming up to him. So he sat in one of the couches in the lobby and pulled out his phone to look at some posts being made on PokeGram when he heard footsteps from the locker rooms, he assumed that it might be one of the gym trainers heading home for the day, since it's around that time, but then he heard Gordie call out his name and couldn't help but look up from his phone to see that familiar face he saw on the train with Gordie by her side. He smiled at the both of them before putting his phone away, there wasn't much to look at on PokeGram anyway, so he's not really missing anything anyway (which is something Raihan didn't think he would think to himself). "Hey, Gordie! And long time, no see, Noelle!", he called out before standing up to wave at them.

Before Raihan could say anything else, he felt a slight sting in the palm of his hand and what felt like a human hand making quick and short contact to it before retreating to the owner of said hand. It was Noelle's and she looked like a child who is looking for approval for what they did but also wasn't sure if it was the right move. Meanwhile, Raihan is completely confused by what had just occurred and Gordie is trying his best to not wheeze or make any further noises of amusement other than snorts.

The room fell silent and Noelle realized just what had happened and tries to save the conversation once again, "U-um, it's the Galarian greeting. I heard it's...what people used to do...back then??" Then it clicked in Raihan's head about what is going on and he couldn't help but glare at Gordie and the rock gym leader halted his laughter under Raihan's harsh gaze. The dragon gym leader's eyes darted back to Noelle, who's face had gone pale, and his eyes soften to not scare her away or made her think that he's mad at her too. "I'm sorry but your cousin lied. They didn't have handshakes or greetings like this back in the Middle Ages but at the very least you tried."

She stared at Raihan blankly before it was her turn to glare at Gordie for embarrassing her once again. This is the last time she'll believe in one of Gordie's lies, which is what she said to herself the last time Gordie pulled a prank on her. Noelle then hung her head in shame, "I-I'm sorry for bothering you then--" "No, no, no, it's okay. Besides, it's been a while and I was wondering how things have been for you lately." 

Gordie took this has his time to slink away and let them talk about what ever it is they need to talk about

Noelle was a bit shocked by it but she quickly recovers to answer Raihan's question, "E-everything is fine...I-it has been a bit difficult but I know that I can handle it." Raihan smiled at her determination, "That's the spirit! I know that you'll give all the gym challengers a good thrashing. This isn't your first rodeo, after all, is that right?" Noelle was kind of surprised about how he would know that but she just chalks it up to Melony bragging about her nieces, nephews and kids' achievements to everyone and anyone who would listen, you know, typical motherly behaviors. "Y-yeah, that's right. I'm not really a gym leader anymore, though.", she mumbled but quickly changed subjects before he could ask, "So, what about you? H-how has preparations been going for you?" 

"Oh, they've been going great. My trainers have really improved since last year, I know that these gym challengers don't stand a chance. This year, I will beat Leon, I have faith in my team.", he said with a determined look on his face, flashing his fang. _Leon? Who's that?_ Noelle tilted her head a bit, "I-I know I should know who he is by now but who's Leon?"

Raihan's eyes widen a bit at the fact that Noelle, somehow, didn't know who Leon is. Granted, she just got here a week ago but still, her aunt AND cousin are both gym leaders in Galar, she should at least have heard of Leon. Then again, she didn't know much about Raihan until a week ago, so there's that. 

"Leon is Galar's Unbeatable Champion and I'm his greatest rival. I'm the only one who's ever gotten so close to beating him.", Raihan stated with a proud smirk and Noelle looked at him in awe. Unbeatable? And Raihan is his greatest rival. With a title like that, it just makes her wonder just how strong Raihan AND Leon really are. Just what would them fighting look like? It must be intense. Not to mention that, according to Micah, Galarians have this ability called dynamaxing, a.k.a make Pokemon big via power spots. Clearly Galar doesn't mess around when it comes to the Gym Challenge. 

"That's impressive! But how would you be able to beat him? He's called unbeatable for a reason, right?", Noelle questioned. Could Leon really be beaten? Who else has gotten close? Is Raihan really the only one? Raihan nodded, "That's right, but no one can stay unbeatable forever, eventually someone is going to take him down. It's going to have to be me. Which reminds me. You used to be an ice-type gym leader back in Lykke, right?" Noelle blinked at him in curiously, what brought this on? Wow, deja vu. 

"Yes, but I don't really fit the criteria.", Noelle stated, looking almost ashamed of admitting that she's not as good as she was cracked up to be. Now it was Raihan's turn to blink at her in curiosity, "What makes you say that? You wouldn't be a gym leader unless you meet the criteria, such as strength and mastery." She's a bit ashamed to admit this but the only ones who knew this are her aunt and her cousin, she has to tell him to help him understand but of course, this could mean that he'll possibly hate her. Oh well, she's only known him for week. It'll just be another bit of unfortunate events under her belt, as much as she hates the thought of it. "I...It's family tradition for the strongest in my family to be gym leaders...So it just doesn't feel like I deserve it...I-I'm sorry for disappointing you.", she apologetically stated and hung her head low to avoid his gaze, however, this doesn't bother Raihan at all. In fact, he's not even surprised since there have been gym leaders in Galar's history that did it before. It never changes the fact that if you're a gym leader, you're the best in the region in what you do. "There have been plenty of gym leaders that have it as family tradition to pass the title down to the next person. There are some that still practice it even today."

Noelle was shocked by what she's hearing. _How on earth is he not fazed by it?_ But Raihan continues before she could say anything else, "Anyways, the reason why I asked is because, I want to challenge you to a Pokemon battle. I know things are busy but I want to see just how strong you are. It will also prepare me for my battle with Leon." Raihan flashed a charming smile Noelle's way, possibly in hopes that it would convince her to say yes. Aaaand it did, sort of. "O-okay, b-but I can't guarantee that it'll be as fun as it would be with everyone else. Where should we battle and what happens if our schedules conflict with each other?" As if Raihan rehearsed this exact moment and question, he held out his hand, "I'll give you my phone number. Just text be, so that I could add you to my contacts." Noelle couldn't help but blush deeply at this but she agreed nonetheless and handed her phone to Raihan. It took a bit but after inputting the password to the phone that was sort of unnecessarily confusing, went through her photos out of curiosity (much to her chagrin), went to her contacts and added his number to her contacts. "There we go! Here's your phone back.", he handed Noelle's phone back before pulling his own phone out of his pocket. Noelle clicked on the text option and typed out 'Hello' into the chatbox and pressed send. A moment later and Raihan's phone vibrates and trills to signal that he received a message. 

"S-so, when should be meet and where?", Noelle questioned once again and waited for Raihan's response. Instead of verbally stating the time, date and place, he decided to type it out in the chatbox before pressing send.

'Midweek, 7:00 (19:00), Hammerlocke Stadium.'

 _Hammerlocke? That means....Route 8. Dang it._ Noelle couldn't help but sigh, "That means Route 8, here I come." Raihan couldn't help but chuckle, "It's not so bad, once you get used to it. Eventually, by the time the gym challenge is over, you'll know Route 8 like the back of your hand."

Raihan then checked the time, the meeting will take place at Wyndon, so he needs to get on a flying taxi and get there, now. "I got to get going. It's nice to see you again and I'm looking forward to meeting you more often in the future. See ya later!", and just like that, Raihan is off. Noelle waved bye at him, holding her phone in her hands. 

Hopefully there won't be too much sand down her shirt before she gets there. 


	4. Ice Vs Dragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noelle and Raihan do a practice battle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for taking so long. I caught a cold about a week (or two??) ago and it knocked my muse around a little bit. I only managed to do one illustration this time around. Also, I did a ton of research for this battle and I'm not good at writing battles, especially since I'm in complete control of the outcome. Hopefully that I still did well despite the circumstances and I hope that you all enjoy this chapter. Also, new characters will show up in the next chapter.

After about half an hour of trekking through Route 8, getting sand in her hair and nearly ran over by a Liepard, Noelle is FINALLY at Hammerlocke. She would've LOVED to have a cup of coffee at the Hammerlocke Cafe but she forgot her wallet at Circhester and she isn't going to get run over by Liepard, get more sand in her hair and do another half an hour trek through Route 8 just to get her wallet and go through Route 8, more sand, and deadly Liepard zoomies. Oh well, maybe getting coffee before a match with Raihan would be a bad idea, anyways. 

Good thing she manages to not go too far into her own mind yet again, because she heard footsteps behind her as she stood in front of the stadium for Raihan, facing towards the gates to Hammerlocke. It was one of Raihan's gym trainers walking out of the stadium in her casual outfit and her purse with the strap crossing her body. No Raihan yet and it's 6:58 (18:58). Is she waiting at the wrong place? Noelle felt a tap on her shoulder and looked to see that it was the same gym trainer that was on her way out, "Excuse me, are you Miss Noelle?" Noelle nodded to the girl's question, "Yes, I'm Noelle. Is something wrong?" Noelle is a little concerned that Raihan might not be able to meet up (because they're like a week and a half away from the beginning of the gym challenge and Raihan might have to get ready for the exhibition match in a couple days) and she would have to walk all the way back to Circhester. But, to her relief, as it turns out, he's actually in the stadium waiting for her in the lobby. Noelle thanked the young trainer before heading inside to meet up with the dragon gym leader.

And right by the entrance to the tunnel that leads to the battlefield is none other than Raihan himself. Good thing Noelle forgot her wallet because her heart is beating a bit fast at the sight of him. _Okay, yes, Noelle. We know he's hot and I'm sure he knows it._ , she thought to herself. _But you literally just met him like...two and a half weeks ago and I'm pretty sure that he has a partner._ Noelle took a breath before approaching Raihan, trying to pretend that her face is red from something else. "Hello! Hopefully I wasn't too late.", she gave the tall man a shy smile before stopping in front of him with her hands in front of her. Raihan smiled back at Noelle, "Don't worry about it, I have nothing else going on tonight and I feel that a Pokémon battle with my colleague's niece would be a better time spent than sitting on the couch the rest of the night." Why would he want to have a practice battle with me of all people? she thought to herself, again. "Anyways, let's go and head on in. Since you haven't been trained to use dynamax yet, we'll just battle without it.", he said before heading into the entrance to the tunnel and Noelle followed him. 

* * *

Standing in the middle of a stadium is not something Noelle thought she would ever do again but here she is. She always felt like she doesn't belong anywhere near a gym stadium, ever since her friend---

"Alright, considering your background, I'm sure you're already aware of the rules.", Raihan's voice snapped Noelle out of her thoughts, a good thing it did too, "But since we're in my gym, we're going to battle the way I set them up. We're going to do double battles." Noelle's eyes widen a bit at what he said, Double battles? She's hasn't done double battles in three years, it's definitely going to show. Then she thought of a question that she has been wanting to know. She looked at Raihan and asked, "Raihan, before we start and if it's okay for me to ask you this, why did you choose me over someone like Micah or Liana? They're just as good, if not, better than I am." Raihan stared at Noelle for a bit before placing his hands behind his head, looking as if he was thinking of what to say, "...I guess you can say that you seem pretty capable. Besides, I do need to practice against ice types, and you're the perfect candidate." Noelle doesn't really believe what he said but she doesn't want to take up anymore of his time than she already is, so she'll just take that explanation for now. 

"Well, if that's what you think then...I guess that's fine, but I can't guarantee you that this practice battle will do you any good.", she warned. Raihan shrugged at that statement before moving his hands from his head to his pockets and turning to his spot in the field, "We'll see about that." And with that, Noelle walked over to her spot on the field. 

Both turned towards each other and Raihan gets into his stance. Noelle lifts an eyebrow at the sight but she isn't going to waste any more of his time by asking him. Both brought out two pokeballs, Noelle getting into her stance, standing up straight and her eyes glaring straight through Raihan. "Go, Beartic and Abomasnow!", Noelle shouted as both massive Pokemon landed with a thud and a whirl of snow appears and engulfs the stadium. Raihan couldn't help but grin at the sight. "Nice move! Having your Pokémon change weather. My turn!", he said before he tossed the pokeballs up in the air, "Come on out, Gigalith and Flygon!" Flygon pops out of his capsule and lands gracefully onto the ground while Gigalith lands with a crashing thud unto the ground beside Flygon. Just then the whirl of snow turns into sand at the blink of an eye, Noelle had to shield her face from the sudden onslaught of sand whipping at her face. "Let the winds blow! Stream forward, Sandstorm!", Raihan shouted over the roar of the wind produced by the sandstorm. 

"Flygon, use Steelwing!", Flygon did as he was commanded and landed a hit right at Abomasnow, the hit was effective enough to knock the massive grass-ice Pokémon down to his knees before slowly standing back up. Noelle flinches at how hard of a hit Abomasnow took but was glad that he could still stand on his feet. Noelle sees an opportunity as she watches Flygon slowly land to his spot and tries to take it before Raihan could shout out another command to his Pokémon. 

"Beartic, use Icicle Crash!"

"Quick, Gigalith, use Body Press!"

Beartic fires a blast of ice above Flygon just as Gigalith flew up in the air and used his full body weight onto Beartic and injures him greatly. Icicles form and fall right on top of Flygon, who took a great amount of damage from the attack. Gigalith returned back to his spot with Beartic slowly standing from the crater that was created by combination of Gigalith and Beartic's weight. Noelle isn't sure if Raihan has any status moves on his Pokémon but doesn't want to take that risk now, especially when both of her Pokemon have taken massive hits from both Flygon and Gigalith. "Abomasnow, use Mist!", and Abomasnow did, covering both himself and Beartic in mist. Suddenly they both got hit with a blast of sand that gave them a bit of damage but luckily not by much. 

"Gigalith, use Body Press, again!", Raihan commanded and Gigalith threw himself into the air once again, aiming straight for Beartic.

"Beartic, dodge!", Beartic moved out of the way of the attack as fast as he could and leaped as Gigalith's body makes destructive contact with the ground. "Good job, Beartic! Now use Superpower!", Noelle shouted and Beartic turned from where he landed and his fist landed a hit at Gigalith, which knocked him back to a nearby wall causing him to feint. Raihan sighed and had Gigalith return to his Pokeball, "You did good, Gigalith. We'll handle the rest. Flygon, use Thunder Punch.", Flygon nodded and charged right at Beartic with a fist charged with electricity. "Oh crap! Beartic, brace yourself, quick!", before Beartic could even raise his arms, Flygon landed the punch right at Beartic's stomach, he flew backwards from the impact and skidded to a halt before feinting, Noelle returns Beartic back into his Pokeball. "Go, Sandaconda!", Sandaconda pops out of his Pokeball and took it's spot right by Flygon. "Abomasnow, take out Flygon with Wood Hammer.", Abomasnow produces a massive wooden hammer from his body and charges at Flygon to land the hit. Flygon feints from the attack and Raihan returns him to his Pokeball. 

"Go, Mari!", Noelle shouted as she threw the Pokeball into the air. Raihan was confused at the name until a Froslass appears from her capsule, then he understood, another ice type Pokémon. Froslass's can be scary good if used right. He wonders how Noelle will use her Froslass, it should he interesting. However, there's still Abomasnow. "Mari, use Hail.", Noelle commanded and Mari summons a snowstorm in place of Sand Stream. "Sandaconda, use Fire Fang", Raihan shouted and Sandaconda's fangs alight with flames before charging at Abomasnow, biting him in the arm and his whole body bursts into flames before falling over with a thud, feinting. Noelle returns Abomasnow back into his Pokeball. Her strongest Pokémon is up next, her partner and her first Pokémon when she started out on her journey, Tuva, will have to carry the rest of the team. "You're pretty tough, Raihan. It's no wonder you're the strongest gym leader in Galar.", Noelle stated as she pulls out her last Pokeball that has Tuva inside. "And you're pretty strong for someone who said not to expect too much.", Raihan said with his signature smile, copying Noelle's move and pulling out the Pokeball that contains Duraludon. That almost snapped Noelle out of her gym leader mode before she finally threw her pokeball out into the field, "Go, Tuva!" A Glalie pops out of the capsule and roars at her opponents. "My turn now. Duraludon, come on out!", Raihan shouted and his Duraludon appears next to Sandaconda. It's the end game now. No more playing around. 

"Mari, use Aurora Veil! Tuva, use Freeze-Dry!", Noelle commanded and both Pokémon went to work, Mari creates a force field of lights that reduces damage from opponents and Tuva releases a gust of frigid air from her mouth at the two targets. "Sandaconda, use Protect. Duraludon, dodge!", Raihan ordered, Sandaconda created a force field to block the attack while Duraludon maneuvered out of the way of the attack. "Now, use Stone Edge!", Duraludon buried his head in the ground and debris of the concrete formed its way to Mari. "Mari, dodge, then use Ice Shard!", Noelle shouted as the debris quickly made it's way to Mari. The Froslass nearly managed to dodge out of the way but her tendril was hit in the process, injuring it. Mari still managed to turn to Sandaconda and fired five shards of ice at him. Before Raihan could react, Sandaconda was hit and collided backwards from the impact. 

"Duraludon, use Iron Head! Sandaconda, use Earth Power!"

"Tuva, use Protect and Mari, use Frost Breath!"

Tuva was protected from Duraludon's attack but Sandaconda and Mari both feinted from their attacks hitting each other. It's now down to Tuva and Duraludon. The snowstorm subsided and the battlefield was clear again. "Noelle, I neglect to mention an important fact about Duraludon. He's both Dragon AND Steel type and you know what that means.", Raihan stated, giving Noelle a grin. _It can normalize Ice-type damage._ , Noelle thought to herself. _Great._ She might not win this. "A-and Tuva...is...trained really well...in these...situations???", she stated(?) before directing Tuva. "Tuva, use Blizzard!", she commanded, Tuva summoned a strong gust of cold air right at Duraludon. "Dodge!", Raihan shouted but Duraludon was hit before he could react. "Dang...", Raihan faulted himself for not reacting fast enough to stop the attack but he was glad that Duraludon hasn't feinted yet. 

"Duraludon, use Stone Edge.", Raihan directed and Duraludon buried his head into the ground again and sent the debris to Tuva. "Tuva, counter it using Ice Beam!", Noelle ordered, Tuva gathered energy to form a beam and blasted it towards Duraludon's attack. However, the spikes overpowered the beam and charged at Tuva. "Dodge!" Tuva tries to dodge but was hit in the side, injuring her. Even so, she's still standing. 

Tuva and Duraludon stared each other down, Raihan and Noelle waited for the other to strike.

....

NOW

"Duraludon, use Stone Edge again!"

"Tuva, use Blizzard!"

Both Pokémon attacked at the same time.

Both attacks hit at once.

A mixture of dust and snow covered the entire battlefield for a few moments, then once it clears.

Both Tuva and Duraludon have feinted. 

Both Noelle and Raihan looked at the scene in shock. After a few minutes, Noelle suddenly felt guilty. Almost like she was supposed to lose. She returned Tuva back in her Pokeball and approached Raihan sheepishly. Raihan returned Duraludon into his Pokeball as well, without speaking a word. "R-Raihan, I'm so sor--"  
"That...was...amazing!", Raihan exclaimed, much to Noelle's shock.

"Wait, what?" She was confused, she thought she wounded his pride.

"It was amazing! Honestly, I never been tied with anyone before, so it's pretty new to me. But even then, you were amazing!", Raihan gave Noelle a smile, which made her flustered and not much able to form words in response. "Oh! Uh, um, th-thank you! Y-you were pretty amazing too. I-I mean, you are the strongest gym leader in Galar after all, so of course. B-but you still did pretty g-great.", Noelle stumbled over her words which made Raihan chuckle a bit. "Anyway, thanks for battling me. I may have got a few ideas about handling ice types now but that now means that I have to work on my team.", he said with his finger tapping his chin in thought before waving the thoughts away. "Might not have time this week since I have an exhibition match with Leon in a couple of days. You'll be there, right?", he asked, looking right at Noelle in the eyes with a smile on his face. "Of course, I will! I-I mean, other gym trainers will be watching as well, o-originally I was g-going to...um...stay home...and....", Noelle trailed off before shaking her head, which made Raihan a bit concerned and frown a bit before she looked back at him in the eyes, "I-I'll be there!" The smile returned on his face, which she was glad about. "Awesome! Oh, yeah, by the way, I've been curious about this: Why did you leave Lykke?"

Noelle wasn't prepared for this question at all, Raihan noticed this reaction and felt a bit guilty about asking, "S-sorry about that. You don't have to answer if you don't want to.", he said, assuringly. She nodded at him and looked at the ground, "I-It's not that I didn't want to tell anyone, it's just that...I'm not ready...But let's just say that I was too ashamed to be there any longer, so I left." He'll have to take that answer for now. Just then Noelle felt her phone vibrate and took it out of her pocket, Melony is calling. "Shoot, I got to go, Raihan. See you at the match!", Noelle hurriedly said before running off to answer her phone. Her apologies can be heard from the tunnel before he heard the door shut behind her. 

Raihan sighed, he hasn't had a match like this since he was younger, when Leon wasn't a champion. _She's definitely interesting._ , he thought, _But it's been over a minute and my heart beat hasn't slowed down._ Raihan tries to brush it off, he's learned his lesson the last time he felt this way, it only brings pain. His Rotem phone floating into his line of sight snapped him out of his thoughts, it's a text message from Melony. 

'How was the match?', it read. 

'It went great! She's a natural at this.', he responded. 


End file.
